328 Feeds and Feeding. 



be a definite allowance of hay for the horse at each feeding time, 

 and this should always fall short of what would be consumed if 

 more were given. Next to failure to provide abundant and sys- 

 tematic exercise the common fault in horse management, where 

 animals are used for pleasure, is that of overfeeding with hay. 



508. Systematic feeding of the highest importance. No one 

 can review the literature of horse feeding or personally study the 

 practices in various stables located at widely separated points, as 

 the writer has done, without realizing that there are many suc- 

 cessful ways of feeding and managing the horse. The uses to 

 which this animal is put are so varied, and the feeding materials 

 at command so diverse for different localities, that any hard-and- 

 fast rules as to kind of feed and amount to be supplied are out 

 of the question. One thing is certain, however: Whatever feed- 

 ing stuffs are employed and whatever order of feeding is adopted, 

 regularity and uniformity should prevail at all times. The ani- 

 mal during his round of work anticipates the feeding hour. The 

 digestive system, and indeed the whole organism of the body, 

 becomes accustomed to this certain order, and thrift and health 

 are the natural concomitants, while irregularity and uncertainty 

 are always productive of unsatisfactory results. 



509. Variety in feed of importance. Horsemen sometimes state 

 that with plenty of oats and good hay at command they care noth- 

 ing for other food articles. While it is true that a horse can be 

 maintained on this short dietary, it seems reasonable that equally 

 good or better results are obtainable, and the cost of keeping often 

 lessened, by adopting a more extended bill of fare. Experiments 

 with other domestic animals plainly show the advantages of j udi- 

 ciously formed combinations of feeding stuffs over any single one. 

 If energy and spirited action were the only qualities desirable in 

 the horse, then perhaps oats with hay might suffice; but when we 

 consider the number and complexity of the components of bone, 

 tissue and nerve, we can well believe that these are better nour- 

 ished by several kinds of grain and forage plants than by one or 

 two only. 



A striking illustration of the value of variety in food and its 

 proper administration is shown by Mr. Charles Hunting, a 



